How To Banish Internet Negativity From Your Life

Let’s be honest – sometimes the internet can be completely and utterly shit.

Sometimes it’s cute cat videos and uplifting blog posts, but a lot of the time it’s draining as fuck and you’re like why am I here again?

You’ll see a one too many people having a whinge on Twitter, and then oh lord cripes no some hideous BBC breaking news and then you’ll flick on over to Instagram and why aren’t I on holiday and why don’t I have that coat and why don’t I have abs that look like they could double up as a chopping board?

And then you’re like woah man, I am drained. The internet has scuppered me. Over and out.

So this is a blog post about how I try and limit that bad boy negativity. About how I attempt to not let the ol’ internet overwhelm me – because right now, I feel like me and him have a pretty good thing going.

LOCAL BLOGGING FRIENDS

Turns out there’s only so much INSTAGRAM TWITTER BLOGGING BLAH BLAH BLAH whining your boyfriend will sympathetically listen to before he’ll casually swan off into another room in the house, which is why it’s of vital importance to find other online friends who actually want to talk about the internet as much as you do.

A problem shared is a problem halved and all that and I find meeting up regularly with other local bloggers who just get it, does loads for me mentally. I always come away feeling refreshed and like I’ve moved on from whatever dilemmas/rages/issues I’ve been holding onto.

How dya make local blogger friends? WELL, I met Chloe because we both work from the same coffee shop and they wanted us to put on a blogging workshop, I met Debs because she messaged me on Instagram to say she lived nearby and did I want to shoot some photos, I met Laura via Twitter and I met Erica because we used to work together and she reached out when she moved to the area.

So I guess the answer is there are a bazillion ways, but reaching out to people via social media is probs your best bet.

UNFOLLOWING

I won’t harp on too much about this one because let’s face it, this gal has been harping on non-stop about unfollowing people for the past few months. But yes, you should unfollow anyone (or use Twitter’s handy ‘mute’ function) who brings an element of negativity to your life – whether that’s because they come across as a constantly draining negative person or because they make you question how great YOU are.

I think the one thing that needs to be said here is that you need to learn to prioritise your own mental health over whether you might offend someone you’ve likely never met in real life.

Unfollowing someone because you no longer share their style or point of view isn’t malicious. You’ve got to learn to put yourself first.

And y’know what? You might stumble across their account again in a year or two and find that actually things have changed and they’re somehow up your street again.

DELETE THOSE WHO’S FOLLOWING ME APPS

On a v similar note, if you have one of those apps on your phone that keeps you updated on who is following you (or unfollowing you) on your social channels, GET RID OF IT IMMEDIATELY.

Mate, I had it for a day once back in 2015 and I tell you what’s not nice, seeing the people you thought liked you had unfollowed you. Why put yourself through that by checking in every single day? Nah, just absolutely nah. It’s a source of continual negative energy.

In this case, ignorance is bliss. Let people unfollow you without dwelling on it, it’s no reflection on you, it’s about them. You can’t be everyone’s cup of tea and the sooner you let go of trying to be, the happier you’ll be.

LIMIT PHONE TIME

Sometimes – and you might want to sit down because this is ground-breaking – I let my phone run out of battery before the day is over and leave it switched off. DUN DUN DUN.

Similarly, I’ve also been known to go out for dinner either with Chris or with friends and leave my phone at home. SHOCKER. WOAH.

I’m one of those people who constantly refresh Twitter and Instagram out of habit, even when I’m in the middle of doing something else – like watching a TV programme I actually bothered to record or chatting to friends or working.

So y’know what’s nice? Just not having your phone and actually focusing on people and activities without distraction – it also means you’re not going to see something ridiculous online that could dampen your mood.

DELETE AND BLOCK

A big source of online negativity for me has always been shitty comments – across the blog, YouTube and Insta.

When I first started getting a bit of hate here and there, I asked other bloggers for advice on the best way to handle it. One told me to delete it, block the user and forget it ever happened, whilst another told me to be democratic about it – to allow comments, both positive and negative, so that my channels showed both sides to the story.

I stuck out with the second option for a while, believing in free speech and that and then one day I was like y’know what? NOPE. So I started deleting the comments the moment I saw them and I’ve never looked back. It’s a lot harder to dwell on something when it’s not staring you in the face every time you look at your blog.

Obviously I don’t delete everything. If someone disagrees with me or has a different opinion that’s fair, but when someone’s just like lol you’re a fat, lazy housewife who can’t write, then I’m like BYE FELICIA HUN.